5 ms·

How many seats are actually gerrymandered? From the sources I can find, it's around a net 5 seat advantage for the republicans (out of 435). If that is the bigg

How many seats are actually gerrymandered? From the sources I can find, it's around a net 5 seat advantage for the republicans (out of 435). If that is the biggest issue in American politics, then the rest can't be that bad.

specialist 10y ago
"If [gerrymandering] is the biggest issue... then the rest can't be that bad." Gerrymandering segregates like with like, increasing partisanship. Favoring the most extreme candidate. Meaning seats are won during low turnout primaries vs general elections. Meaning voters have no meaningful choice. Gerrymandering is incumbency protection. If you support term limits, you'd logically also support more competitive redistricting. "From the sources I can find, it's around a net 5..." Look harder.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago
  >Meaning seats are won during low turnout primaries vs general elections. Meaning voters have no meaningful choice. And at that point, we might as well institute California-style jungle primaries everywhere, which at least ensures that a real "general election" takes place (albeit at an awkward time) followed by a runoff for the "lesser evils".
  - specialist 10y ago
    Ya. My fantasy notion is that Approval Voting would moot the primaries. This would save (the tax payers) money. Having fewer elections would help reduce voter fatigue. It'd also moot the spoiler effect, so third parties can be granted access to the ballot, with little downside, leading to more voter choice. My only (hypothetical) concern with Approval Voting is having too many choices (per race), the paradox of choice leading to indecision. But that's just an intuition; I have no data.
dangoor 10y ago
It's worth keeping in mind that state governments in the US also wield a lot of power and the gerrymandering at that level can be unbelievable (see "North Carolina is no longer a democracy" recent stories). The state governments control how voting works in the state, which can lead to distortions at the federal level.

specialist 10y ago

"If [gerrymandering] is the biggest issue... then the rest can't be that bad." Gerrymandering segregates like with like, increasing partisanship. Favoring the most extreme candidate. Meaning seats are won during low turnout primaries vs general elections. Meaning voters have no meaningful choice. Gerrymandering is incumbency protection. If you support term limits, you'd logically also support more competitive redistricting. "From the sources I can find, it's around a net 5..." Look harder.

eli_gottlieb 10y ago
>Meaning seats are won during low turnout primaries vs general elections. Meaning voters have no meaningful choice. And at that point, we might as well institute California-style jungle primaries everywhere, which at least ensures that a real "general election" takes place (albeit at an awkward time) followed by a runoff for the "lesser evils".
- specialist 10y ago
  Ya. My fantasy notion is that Approval Voting would moot the primaries. This would save (the tax payers) money. Having fewer elections would help reduce voter fatigue. It'd also moot the spoiler effect, so third parties can be granted access to the ballot, with little downside, leading to more voter choice. My only (hypothetical) concern with Approval Voting is having too many choices (per race), the paradox of choice leading to indecision. But that's just an intuition; I have no data.

dangoor 10y ago

It's worth keeping in mind that state governments in the US also wield a lot of power and the gerrymandering at that level can be unbelievable (see "North Carolina is no longer a democracy" recent stories). The state governments control how voting works in the state, which can lead to distortions at the federal level.